


Max Has a Secret

by Sharcade



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Bed-Wetting, Child Neglect, Crying, Embarrassment, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Humiliation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Max needs love, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Secrets, Self-Indulgent, Sneaking Around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-03 14:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16327697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Max is pretty good at hiding things. He's spent most of his childhood hiding things. He hides his tears, he hides his trust issues, and he hides other things he'd rather not name.





	Max Has a Secret

**Author's Note:**

> wow this got way longer than anticipated

Max had nightmares.

It wasn't every night; he actually hadn't had a nightmare in a fairly long time. They usually hit him for the first few days of camp, then fizzled out as he got more comfortable. It wasn't like he was afraid of anything - he would argue that nothing could scare him until he was breathless - but certain things just unnerved him. If Max had to predict it from a psychological point of view, it would be natural to assume that Max's nightmares would be of having to go back home to his parents, or maybe of the people he cared about leaving him, maybe even about them dying. Those were the things that scared him. However, as much as he would like to claim it was these genuinely scary things that had him shaking at night, that would be a lie.

Max was afraid of monsters. Were monsters real? Probably not, no, at least not the ones that haunted him. They were twisted, inky creatures with gnashing teeth that hissed so loud the world would tremble, they would whisper to him, whisper things he didn't want to hear, whisper truths he wasn't ready for. As far as the dreams of ten-year-old boys went, they were fairly dark.

Max didn't think much of them, he didn't have much to compare them to after all. He just knew that sometimes his dreams were vivid enough to wake him up at night in a cold sweat, tears in his eyes as he tried to steady himself. They were more like night terrors than nightmares, really. Max had been incredibly relieved when they had subsided after about a week of camp, it meant he could finally sleep through the night and get some genuine rest. Everything had been good for a while, everything had been fine. Today, however, had been eventful.

It had started the same way most days began in Camp Campbell: With camp activities. Max had been unruly - he couldn't really think of a time when he  _wasn't_ \- and hadn't thought much of his behaviour at the time, he never did. It wasn't until Nerris' ridiculous cardboard nerd castle had collapsed that David had finally been set off.

David had yelled at him. Max was used to some scolding for his behaviour, he even enjoyed it at times; negative attention was still attention, and attention was welcome. Max was  _not_ used to David being genuinely angry with him.

 _"You can't have fun at camp, so you just have to go around ruining it for everybody else!"_ David had reprimanded, his glare filling Max with a feeling that could only be labelled as genuine guilt.  _"Nobody's going to want to play with you at all if you can never just play nice!"_

That had been enough, that threat of loneliness had been enough to have him on edge for the rest of the day. He hadn't spoken again for the entire afternoon, he didn't have much to say, he had genuinely felt some hurt at David's words. Whether he was offended or just felt guilty, he wasn't really sure, but it had stuck with him.

The last thought on his mind was that it could trigger another wave of nightmares. Particular events never really did anything to worsen them. While he got them all the time at home, the same couldn't be said about camp, and for a brief moment Max wondered if that might be because of the way he was treated at camp. There was nothing to be afraid of at camp, right?

Max's face contorted slightly as he tossed and turned in his bed, pulling his blankets tighter around himself. Black, murky monsters pouring out from every corner of his mind, invading his space, suffocating, everything was  _suffocating_ and he could hear the whispers, he could hear them vividly. The whispers that told him he was unwanted, he would be alone forever, he was dead weight. The truths he didn't want to hear. They got closer, the sounds got louder, he couldn't breathe,  _he couldn't breathe,_ _he needed help._

Max jolted upright abruptly, panting softly as his eyes frantically searched the tent. He was awake. It was still dark out, so he couldn't imagine it was morning quite yet, but he knew he wouldn't be getting back to sleep. Neil was still asleep, a fact Max took relief in. He let out a shaky breath, wiping tears from his eyes with trembling hands as he tried to ground himself;  _it wasn't real, none of it was real._

Or at least, the monsters weren't.

Max let out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes as he properly sat up in bed. Then, he froze. Something didn't feel right. In fact, something felt very, very wrong. No. No no no no  _no no no no_ , this  _couldn't_ be happening at camp, he wouldn't know what the fuck to do if this was happening at camp. Cautiously, Max began to pull his blanket back, paling at the wetness that had pooled underneath him. Max had wet the bed.

"Fuck," he whispered under his breath, snapping a hand over his mouth to silence himself.

This was bad, this was  _really really bad_ , he needed to deal with this before Neil woke up. He'd need to get the sheets cleaned, he'd need to shower, he'd need to clean the mattress - how did people even clean mattresses? Ignoring the shaking in his hands and the tightening in his chest, Max quickly scrambled out of bed, cringing at the excess liquid that ran down his legs. He needed to shower.

Hurriedly, Max gathered up his sheets, gathered up anything that could have possibly given him away, and hoisted it up off of the bed. This was less than comfortable - the bedding they had been provided with was actually fairly comfortable, which meant it definitely wasn't thin. Letting out a shaky breath, Max exited the tent, lugging his belongings along with him.

Max didn't like being alone in the dark. Max didn't like being alone in the dark right after a nightmare either. However, another thing Max didn't like was the idea that the entire camp could find out he wet the bed if he didn't fix all this immediately, so he chose to suck it up, just this once. The laundry cabin was only a few minutes away from his tent, just past the counsellor's cabin, he could walk that far. It didn't matter that it was dark, or that it was cold, or that the deafening silence of the night felt like it was clawing its way into Max's mind and filling it with nightmarish whispers all over again. He had bigger concerns right now.

Max didn't really notice when he picked up a bit of speed, walking faster than he usually would in this case. He needed to get to the laundry cabin before anybody saw him, that was the reason he was so brisk, not because he was afraid. Of course not.

"-orrow's activities should be something a little less messy, though, we don't want a repeat of today!"

The second David's voice broke the silence, Max thought he was going to have a heart attack. Why the fuck weren't the counsellors asleep yet?! His eyes darting back and forth, Max quickly opted for diving to the side of the cabin, tucking himself behind a bush as the cabin door shut behind Gwen and David. Gwen stretched, yawning and tucking her keys into her pocket as David trailed ahead.

"At least nothing caught on fire," she muttered, catching up with David. "Better than last week."

"That's the spirit!" David praised, shooting her a tired grin. "Now let's get this mess cleaned up so we can get the activity field ready for tomorrow!"

"Don't you want to get some sleep?"

"The enjoyment and educational fulfilment of our Camp Campbell campers always come before my basic bodily needs!"

"That's the...spirit?" Gwen mumbled quizzically.

"That's the spirit!"

Max squinted slightly and raised an eyebrow; he had no idea David was this annoyingly enthusiastic at all hours of the day. He also didn't know that the counsellors set up activities in the middle of the night. Maybe it wasn't as late as he thought. It couldn't have been past midnight, David had said he hadn't wanted a repeat of  _today_. Max shook his head of the thought, it didn't matter right now.

Hurriedly, he scampered off towards the laundry cabin once again, arms full of balled up sheets. Did they lock the cabin? He couldn't see why they would, but the thought worried him none the less. If the cabin was locked, there was genuinely nothing he would be able to do. Everybody would know what happened, how would he explain it? He couldn't possibly explain it without revealing that he had nightmares, revealing by extension that there were things Max was afraid of. Frustration began to overwhelm him, this never would have happened if he didn't have to come to this shitty camp, this never would have happened if David hadn't snapped at him.

This never would have happened if he hadn't bothered David.

Max slowed in his tracks slightly,  _this never would have happened if he hadn't bothered David._ He hesitated slightly, dropping his sheets in front of the cabin door as he thought over the words. He had bothered David. David had yelled at him because he was fed up at him, David had fed him those truths that he didn't want to hear. David had confirmed his worst nightmares. Max doubted David even knew that he was doing it, but he had done it nonetheless, and it was Max's own fault.

Hesitantly, Max reached for the doorknob and turned it. Nothing. The door stayed shut. Max's eyes widened, his panic rising once again as the doorknob jiggled uselessly, it was locked,  _he couldn't get inside, it was locked._ There had to be a way to pick it, he was great at picking locks, he had picked a million locks on camp grounds, he just needed-

"Fuck," Max groaned softly, frustrated tears pricking at his eyes once again. " _Fuck_ , my lock picking kit, it's back at the tent."

There wouldn't be time to go back for it, Max knew that. Going back for the kit meant he could be spotted, it meant his laundry could be spotted, it meant his wet clothes could be spotted and  _he still hadn't_   _showered._ There were too many things to do in too little time, he couldn't fix all of this, he couldn't  _hide_ all of this. Max's breaths began to pick up speed, tears pricking dangerously at the corners of his eyes as he struggled to recollect himself, he could go through a window, he could sneak in somehow, there had to be a way, there had to be-

"Max!"

Max's eyes snapped open, the smaller camper whirling around to meet David's eyes. David looked beyond angry, Max imagined he was probably still mad from earlier. The camper's mouth fell open to speak, words failing him as his hands began to tremble again. He didn't feel well, he really didn't feel well, his throat felt like it was closing up with every breath he took and  _he wanted to curl up and disappear._

Suddenly, David's entire demeanour seemed to change, his eyes drifting down to the wet spot on Max's pyjama shorts, his shoulders slumping in stunned silence. That was it. Max was done. David knew, David knew the one thing Max thought he would never have to worry about at camp, and not only did David know, but David was fucking  _mad_ at him, David was going to tell everyone, David would turn this into some sort of fucked up punishment.

So Max broke down crying.

"Th-This is your fucking fault!" he spat through tears, David still quietly stunned as Max's hands came up to furiously wipe at his eyes. "You f-fucking yelled at me, it's your fault!"

Max knew that wasn't true.

"I...what do you mean?" David mumbled, dropping down onto a knee to carefully look Max over. "I didn't-"

"They had stopped until you fucking went and-!" Max's words caught in his through, the boy choking on a sob as more tears poured down his face.

 _This could not possibly have gone worse._ Not only had he wet the bad, not only had David found him here in wet pyjamas trying to wash his sheets, but now he was crying like a child in front of the counsellor and he still couldn't  _breathe_. Max gulped down air, trying to stop himself from crying, to stop himself from humiliating himself in front of David. Maybe if he was lucky he would just die on the spot. Max felt his fingers unconsciously tangle in his hair as his heart hammered in his chest, hell, he couldn't be having a panic attack now,  _not now._

"Max, Max, hey," David coaxed, quickly placing his hands on Max's shoulders and pulling him closer. "It's alright, just breathe."

Max let out another quiet sob, his hands loosening in his black curls as exhaustion wracked his body. David pulled him in wordlessly, hugging the boy gently and rubbing his back. Any other moment of any other day, Max would have put up a fight, but he was  _tired._ It was late and he was crying and he was  _tired._ David seemed to sure, he seemed so steady, it almost made Max jealous. David was supposed to be the passionate one, the emotional mess - even if that emotion was usually happiness. It wasn't supposed to be Max. It was never supposed to be Max.

"What happened?" David asked calmly, Max sniffling pathetically against the counsellor's chest as he struggled to match David's breathing pattern.

"I-" Max bit his tongue, hesitating on his next words. "I-I...I had a nightmare."

Something in David's demeanour tensed, the other shoe had dropped. Max's words made sense now, David had given him a nightmare, David had yelled at him and now this had happened. David felt a pang of guilt in his chest, Max's shaky breaths doing little to diminish it. David had only ever seen Max cry once before, and another slash of guilt cut through him at the memory that that had been his fault as well.

"Do you know why you-"

"Because y-you yelled at me, asshole!" Max snapped pitifully, glaring up at David. "It's your fault!"

"Max, I-"

"I-I know I'm a piece of shit, I know I  _bother_ you," Max rambled, locking his eyes on David's own. "I-I  _know_ I'm a  _problem kid_ o-or whatever the hell you wanna call me, b-but-"

"I'm sorry."

Max paused, blinking tears back in confusion. Sure, he was blaming David, but he knew damn well that this wasn't David's fault. He had specifically been trying to bother David, he had been actively attempting to drive him crazy all day, David had just reacted. That wasn't David's fault, it was Max's, so why was David apologizing?

"I'm sorry, Max," David repeated quietly. "I didn't know."

"Y-You're...You're sorry?" Max murmured.

"I didn't know you had nightmares," David began. "If I knew that saying those things to you would hurt you that much, I wouldn't have said them, no matter what you had done."

"You didn't say it to hurt me-?"

"Of course not," David mumbled reassuringly, a brief look of hurt crossing his features. "Max, I would never say anything to hurt you."

Max didn't reply for a moment, his brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. David hadn't been trying to hurt him. Max wasn't used to that, Max was used to words being used like knives against him, he had taken so many cutting remarks from his parents over the years, he had taken so many verbal blows that he always assumed David's scorn was meant to knock him down. It was only natural.

"Do people say things to hurt you?"

Max tensed.

"None of your fucking business,  _Camp Man,_ " Max spat, cringing slightly in discomfort as he remembered that he  _still hadn't fucking showered._ "Stop trying to psychoanalyze me, you're not Gwen."

David didn't seem phased by Max's outburst, his face remaining sympathetic and understanding in a way that made Max want to  _punch it._ He could feel his hands shaking again, he didn't  _want_ to let David in, he was supposed to be  _mad_ at David. David, on the other hand, was beginning to piece things together. For what felt like the hundredth time this summer, David silently prayed that Max would find a happier home one day. He deserved it.

"Max, if anybody is saying things to hurt you, can you do something for me?"

"Depends," Max muttered.

"Just remember for me," David started, offering a sympathetic smile. "That you've always got a home at Camp Campbell, okay? And nobody is going to hurt you here."

Max was silent for a moment, keeping his expression stoic as he wiped remaining tears off of his cheek. Stupid fucking David.

"Let's get your sheets cleaned up, okay?" David offered, pulling his keyring from his pocket and unlocking the laundry cabin before picking up Max's wadded bedding.

"Wh-What are you-?!" Max stammered in embarrassment, jumping up in an attempt to grab at the sheets in David's hand. "Don't fucking touch those!"

"It's fine, Max," David chuckled, opening the door. "This isn't the only time I've had to clean a camper's wet sheets, believe me. I've been working here longer than you think."

Max backed off reluctantly, still eyeing David nervously as he followed the counsellor into the laundry cabin. His nervous tremors were turning more into shivers, the cold night not helping at all to keep his body warm in his wet shorts. 

"Um, David?" he started hesitantly, watching as David unloaded his sheets into the washing machine.

"Yes, Max?"

"You're not gonna tell anybody about this, right?"

"Of course not," David assured, glancing back at Max with a reassuring smile, one that slowly faded after a moment. "Unless you want me to tell Gwen. It might be good for her to be able to help you if I'm not around."

"...Fine," Max sighed quietly. "Tell Gwen, but nobody else."

Max tapped his foot nervously as he watched David put in the load of laundry, his heartbeat still not quite settling after all his sneaking around anxiously and crying. He trusted David, he had no reason not to, but the thought of anybody finding out about this in the future still made him antsy. He hadn't even taken his mattress out of the tent yet, Neil could wake up any second and figure out what happened almost immediately. 

"Max?"

"Wh- Yeah?" Max replied quickly, jolted out of his thoughts.

"Do you want your bear in here?" David asked, holding up Mr. Honeynuts. "He's not wet, but if you still want him washed I can do it by hand, I wouldn't want him to get damaged."

Max's shoulders slumped slightly. There was a little speck of pain in his heart, pain he found in the fact that eventually, he would have to go home. Nobody would care this much about how he felt at home. Only David had ever cared this much.

"Can you um-" Max paused, averting his eyes slightly. "I mean, if it's not too much to ask-"

"I got it," David promised, setting the bear aside with a smile. "Where's your mattress?"

"Still on my bed," Max mumbled in embarrassment. "I couldn't carry it, sorry."

"You wouldn't have known how to wash it," David assured. "I'll handle it, don't worry. You can sleep in the counsellor's cabin tonight, okay?"

"Yeah, um-" Max continued. "About that, I-I don't really have more pyjamas."

David paused, turning and looking over Max with an expression that Max  _prayed_ wasn't pity. David frowned slightly; had Max's parent's really only sent him with one set of pyjamas for the whole summer? Not even, it seemed, because Max had slept in his camp shirt. His parents had barely sent him with anything at all.

"We'll find you something," David promised. "And if we can't, I'll go get you something. I think I should probably buy you some new clothes in the morning anyway, you should have more than one set of pyjamas."

"You don't have t-"

"I  _want_ to." David interrupted, closing the washing machine and starting the cycle.

"David, seriously, do not fucking spend your own money on me," Max commanded. "I mean it."

"Well, who else is going to buy you clothes?"

Max paused, momentarily stunned by the question. Nobody. His parents hadn't bought him new clothes in at least a year. They would buy clothes that were a few sizes too big for him, claiming that he could grow into them, something he never really did; they were just too big. Max acquiesced, instead choosing to watch David as the counsellor pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

"Who are you calling?" Max interrogated, shifting uncomfortably.

"Gwen," David informed quietly, the phone still ringing in his hand.

"David? Where are you?"

"Hey Gwen, I'm in the laundry hall, can you come down here for a second? I need you to watch Max."

"Why is Max up? What did he do?"

"I think it'll be easier to explain when you get here."

"Is anybody hurt?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that, don't worry."

"Alright, I'll be right down."

"David!" Max hissed as David hung up the phone. "What the hell! I don't want Gwen to fucking see me like this!"

"I need her to watch you while I'm out," David explained. "It'll be quick, okay? I just need to wash your mattress and make a run to the store."

"But-"

"Max, I promise," David assured, kneeling down to the child's level. "It'll be quick."

"David?" Gwen called, entering the hall and closing the door quietly behind her. "What's going on?"

Hastily, Max turned away from her, blushing furiously as he desperately tried to hide his situation. Gwen didn't know yet. David had claimed he would tell her, but _she didn't know yet_ , and the idea of her knowing had Max's heart pounding in his chest with tears brimming in his eyes all over again.

He could hear David mumbling behind him, the low volume of David's voice still not something familiar to Max. Gwen's murmurs could be heard occasionally, Max didn't want to know what they were saying.

"Hey kid, it's no big deal, alright?" Gwen assured, kneeling down as Max continued to face away. "Shit happens."

"Fuck off, Gwen," he spat defensively, tensing.

"I could, but I gotta watch you while David runs out to grab you more clothes."

"I told him not to fucking do that!"

"Look Max," Gwen started, taking a deep breath. "I know you fucking hate this, and I know you want us to leave you alone, but how about you let somebody take care of you, just this once, alright? Don't new clothes sound better than the ones you're in right now? We just want you to be comfortable."

"I'll be back in a jiffy," David chimed in, already halfway out the door. "I'll handle that mattress first in case Neil wakes up. Gwen, can you get him in the shower? We've got extra camp shirts in the shed and he should have some pants in his bag at least, or-"

Max listened quietly as David continued to rattle off instructions to Gwen; this was more attention than Max had ever received in his life. They really cared about making sure he was comfortable and content, even if it stripped away at their already minuscule paychecks. It felt strange, there was a feeling in Max's chest that he couldn't quite pin, a tightness that felt like some kind of gratitude, some kind of warmth, something that made Max want to resume crying, but maybe not in a bad way.

Some kind of relief.

"Alright kid," Gwen continued, David disappearing into the night. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"Um-" Max began, wringing his hands slightly as Gwen turned to exit the cabin. "Gwen?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"...Th-Thank you."

"No problem, kid."

**Author's Note:**

> I now have an official Tumblr! Feel free to stop by and drop a request!
> 
> https://sharcade-involved.tumblr.com/


End file.
